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Monday, 24 December 2018

In my last post before Christmas, as I did last year, I want to share information to help those of us who might be struggling, or feeling alone this Christmas. Please remember, you are not alone, please reach out to someone, anyone, if you are alone or concerned.

Tuesday, 11 December 2018

When I heard that Dolly Parton was providing the soundtrack to a film called Dumplin' about a young plus size girl entering a beauty pageant I was both filled with excitement (because I absolutely ADORE Dolly), and absolutely terrified, because I feared that this would be the same sort of fatphobic trash as Insatiable. I was even more excited when I saw Ginger Minj join the cast, she's one of my absolute Drag Race faves. I crossed my fingers and I hoped for a movie I could love.

What I got was a feel good movie that made me cry several times! We're introduced to Willowdean, a plus size high school student whose Mom is a home town famous pageant Queen. Willowdean is dealing with the loss of her beloved Aunt, a woman who taught her to always be herself. In her Aunt's memory, Will decides to sign up to her Mom's pageant in protest, and prove that all bodies are good bodies.

Will isn't the only one who joins the pageant to protest, another plus size student Millie who has always wanted to be in a pageant enters, Will's best friend Ellen (the only problematic character I had an issue with!), and Hannah, who enters the pageant as a fight back against the patriarchy. Hannah is played by Bex Taylor-Klaus who is non-binary, it's amazing seeing an LGBTQ* character played by an LGBTQ* actor. Plus I'm a huge fan of Bex Taylor-Klaus after I saw them in the Scream tv series, what a babe! Ellen is the only character I had any real issue with, with the utterance of the line 'For the record, I never saw you as fat', when she and Will had an argument. It's typical of the sort of platitudes thin people offer fat people to try and make them feel better. There's no avoiding that we are fat, we know you know we are fat,so don't try to butter us up with platitudes. It's not something we need to hear, we know it's a lie, and it's something you only say to pretend you're a good ally.

There are drag queens, divas, and the Dolly Parton soundtrack of my dreams! There's even romance for Willowdean, and for once, the fat character doesn't have to change their appearance to find love. She finds it exactly the way she is, she just has to learn that she can love herself, and that she can believe others will love her fat body too. It's a story so many of us who are fat need to learn, and it's a story so many of us will see ourselves in in one way or another.

It's not a film that's about to win any Oscars, but it is finally a film with a plus size lead that is a feel good delight of self love. I laughed, and I cried, and I ended the film with a smile. And I will absolutely watch it again, and search out the book it's based on.

I've seen negative reviews of Dumplin', and most of them seem to come from thin men. Well this isn't a film for thin men. This is a film for every plus size babe who had to learn to love themselves growing up. This is a film for every fat teenager who doesn't believe they are worthy or deserving of love. This was a film for a gal like me.

Monday, 3 December 2018

If like me you do most of your Christmas shopping online, a good cashback website is absolutely essential. While I'd love to support my local shops sadly Grimsby's high street these days is mostly pound shops and bargain stores, and therefore not the most suitable for gifts. This year thanks to Georgina Grogan I discovered a new cashback website that is really helping me get some money back!

I've been using Topcashback since I started Christmas shopping and already have nearly £100 in cashback waiting for me! I've been amazed at some of the cashback rates and offers they've had, I've saved money on orders I was making anyway thanks to discount codes they've had, and also received a percentage of each order back, up to a whopping 20% at times!

I haven't withdrawn any of my cleared funds yet, because I'm aiming to resist till well into the new year, then treat myself (and maybe my husband) with the cashback. Most major retailers on the site, I've bought from ASOS, notonthehighstreet, The Fragrance Shop, Cadbury and more with no issues. Even Just Eat and Dominos are on the site, so get cashback on your takeaways too! They often do offers where if you activate a link they email you and place an order within a certain time frame, they give you an extra few quid back too, even if your order is only 99p. Now I'm in the habit of doing my shopping through Topcashback it's easy.

If you join by my link below I get a little something for getting you to join, so please consider it!

I've been really impressed with it so far, the percentages seem higher than other sites I've used for cashback before, and every order has tracked no problem (which I definitely can't say for the one I used to use!). This isn't a sponsored post or anything like that, I'm just really happy with the site and wanted to share! I've got my Auntie using it, and one of my colleagues, and both already have over £50 cashback just from shopping they were going to do anyway for Christmas, so it's well worth the effort.

Tuesday, 20 November 2018

Yep, my first Christmas themed post. I can't resist! Every year I cannot help myself but buy a few new baubles for my Christmas tree, much to my husband's chagrin. The tackier and more ridiculous the better, I need them.

Asda is always my first stop because they always have unusual baubles and so far I've picked up 3 from them. (Sorry Stu, yes, I did say so far).

I mean flamingos are incredibly Christmassy right?

Who doesn't want a glittery dinosaur?!

Our tree has a whole bunch of different stag themed baubles, so this iridescent stag had to come home with me.

I also recently went to Cheltenham to visit my parents, and with that trip means the opportunity to shop at Tiger, which we don't have locally. I went a little overboard because I visited the shop twice and came away with a fair few...

Tiger had a few different parrot and tropical bird baubles but I narrowed it down to just this one.

Probably one of my favourites, this sting ray is just so damn cute!!

Obviously a Christmas hot dog.

This turtle made me think of Terry Pratchet lore, but instead of carrying the earth on his back, this turtle is carrying out Christmas presents.

I mean... pineapples are extra Christmassy when they are pink,

.... I have no reasonable explanation for why I needed a cheerleader alligator, other than to say that I just needed it.

And finally, I got this one because my Mum convinced me to, an adorable little dachshund angel.

Do you buy new Christmas decorations every year or is it just me that can't help it, like some sort of Christmas magpie?

Tuesday, 6 November 2018

When the lovely folks at Taffy Mail offered to send me their October box to review I couldn't resist! Taffy Mail is a monthly subscription for American sweets and treats, with prices starting at £7.49 a month. It can contain sweets, crisps, pretzels, a soft drink, and depending the box it can also include 'premium' items including more expensive treats like larger boxes of oeros, or even American cereal! It's such a fun idea and would make a great gift for someone for something totally different. With Christmas coming I'll be keeping this in mind for sure. I was sent the 'Extra' box which contains up to 20 items and at least one soda and gathered some of my favourites up to try them out with me.

Let's start with the savoury goodies. Andy Capp's Hot Fries, TGI Friday's Loaded Potato chips and Herr's Deep Dish Pizza flavored cheese curls. The deep dish pizza curls went down an absolute storm, they really tasted strongly of pizza, with very obvious cheese, garlic and paprika flavours, on a wotsit-type texture crisp. My husband said the hot fries were incredibly spicy (I'm a spice wimp so I fed them to him) and we're saving the potato skins for the weekend.

The mallo cup was a particular stand out for me. It was like a peanut butter cup filled with marshmallow fluff, and vegetarian to boot! So delicious. The laffy taffy have corny jokes on them and were a favourite for one of my faves who tried them. The burger wasn't veggie so I gave it to a friend to try who said it was amazing and tasted of cherry and lime and all fruity yummy flavours.

Why on earth do we not have spooky shaped treats like the twix and snickers in the UK?! Spooky shape chocolate needs to be a thing please. The Air Heads bar was a really chewy grape flavoured bar that was probably one of our least favourites. The Blow Pop was a super sour apple flavour, tangy!

Candy corn is one of those things that fascinate me because America seems to love them but they are completely non-existent in the UK, so I was excited to try them. Because the bag was so big, I took these to the pub and fed them to a bunch of our friends to see what everyone thought. They were not at all what I expected! Sort of a very sugary fudge, a pleasant surprise, nearly everyone enjoyed them. The Skor bar was delicious, really crunchy and tasty toffee. The Boogers weren't veggie but everyone who wasn't veggie enjoyed them.

Peeps are another treat I've heard of because of American TV, but was unable to try myself because they aren't vegetarian unfortunately. No one I fed them to was particularly a fan unfortunately but it was fun to watch people try them! The Sour Patch Kids tricksters however were veggie which is unusual for a jelly type sweet so I had to try them. They are my husband's absolute faves and he was so excited to eat them. We weren't a fan of the M&Ms but a friend thought they were absolute delicious and wolfed them down!

And lastly, the soda. I've heard of Pibb but never tried it, and I was intrigued to give it a go. American soda can be so unlike anything we have in the UK. It almost tasted like a spicy slightly flat Dr Pepper!

It was honestly so much fun trying all these different sweets and treats, I would totally buy this again!

Much love,

Kitty xxx

*while I was gifted these items in no way does this affect my opinions which are entirely my own.

Tuesday, 16 October 2018

Every year Punky Pins do a massive warehouse seconds sale, and every year I leap on it and order a bunch of cuteness! I love what they do, they make a gorgeous mix of enamel pins, iron on patches and even some jewellery, but I am all about their namesake, the pins. As soon as they announce their seconds sale you have to be quick, stuff sells out quick! Here's what I managed to bag.

Anything spooky and cute is right up my street, so I had to get this double eyed kitty. The warehouse sale is mostly 'seconds', so pins Punky Pins don't consider up to scratch to sell full price, but they are often really hard to tell why it's a second. For example this kitty pin has a tiny mark in the white of the lower left eye and that's it!

I'm know for my love of succulents, they are all over our house, I had them in my wedding bouquet, and I have them tattooed on me! So I had to grab this one.

I couldn't resist this cute mermaid inspired pin. The purple glitter is so lovely, such attention to detail.

This little pretzel snake was too adorable to resist! I love the hot pink background contrasted with the black.

How could I not want a pin telling inspired by Cry Baby?

Moths are another thing I can never get enough of. This is a pin I've had my eye on for a while so I could not resist when I saw it in the sale!

Unfortunately some of the pins I ordered in the sale were sold out by the time I checked out. Punky Pins kindly refunded my money for those and sent this little cutie as a 'sorry' gift.

Now, for my three absolute favourites that I got my mitts on...

I had to have this! A mix of horror movies and pastel is perfect for me, it's my fave genre!

I picked this one up because it kind of reminded me of the South Park episode 'Woodland Critters Christmas'. A little satanic deer!

And my absolute fave, this little bunny in the iconic Scream Ghostface mask was the first thing in my basket. I love it so much!! Spooky cute is everything.

Can you even tells what makes some of these seconds? Because I really struggled! Which is your fave?

Tuesday, 9 October 2018

Could there be a more perfect spot to photograph a checked dress than in front of a lovely field of sheep? You can never go wrong with a plaid or tartan print, especially not in autumn. It makes me thinks of Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam and grunge loving men with long hair, all things I'm rather fond of!

100% cotton isn't something you hear a lot in plus sizes, but it is something you can get yours hand on at Navabi. When you're used to polyester and mixed fabrics, 100% cotton feels like an utter delight to wear. It's so soft and comfortable. True luxury is something you can actually buy your plus size body at Navabi and I'm forever grateful they exist.

All the rings you can see in this photo are of course from my faves, Bloody Mary Metal. I can never resist sterling silver! The buttons on the dress feel really sturdy and solid, always reassuring with a shirt dress. It doesn't gape on my bust at all, and I got the dress in my usual size.

It's wonderful and warm too. Good and cosy for the colder weather. The sleeves are just about long enough for my long arms, but I'm not a big fan of cuffs so I undid them and rolled them up instead. It hits me at just below knee level, I'm 5ft 11 so on someone of more average height it would be more of a midi length than it is on me.

My boots are one of my favourite pairs of shoes. They are part of the vegan Dr Martens range, and are Jadon II in cherry red cambridge brush. They have a chunky platform which does weigh a fair bit, so it's one to keep in mind if you plan on wearing them all day. I like them for a bit of extra height at gigs! I wish Dr Martens would expand their vegan line, especially in the size 9+ range. The women's range is up to a size 9 only and gets all the best colours, I just want a pair of size 10 vegan boots in purple!

If you want to get your mitts on this dress, or anything else from Navabi, you can use the code KITTY15 for a discount! It's not an affiliate code or anything like that, but it will get you pennies off your purchase. Yay!

Navabi are a company who I cannot adore enough. They do so so much for the plus size community and constantly fight for real inclusiveness, and real change in the industry. They are the change they want to see, and that's so amazing to see.

Much love,

Kitty

xxxx

*denotes an item gifted to me. I was under no obligation to review or post it, but I wanted to!

Friday, 5 October 2018

It's spooky season, so it seems a perfect time to share some of my all time favourite horror films. I love nothing more than curling up and scaring myself silly on a dark October evening. Here are some of my recommendations for this Halloween!

1) Creep and Creep 2

The Creep series is found footage horror at it's absolute finest. Creep follows Aaron, a videographer who answers an advert created by Josef, and the events that follow. Directed by Patrick Brice who stars as Aaron, and written by both Brice and Mark Duplass who also plays Josef, it's a small cast independent film and it is utterly brilliant. In my opinion these are some of the best modern horror fims in years, genuinely unsettling. If you like found footage, go check out this series, Creep 3 is coming soon!

2) Shaun of the Dead

This rom-com-zom is a Brit classic for a reason, it's hilarious, heartbreaking and horrible, all rolled into one. I have re-watched this dozens of times and it is funny every single time. If you've not seen it, get it watched.

3) Hellraiser

Pinhead is a truly iconic horror villain, one of my absolute favourites. His eloquence is what makes him so utterly horrifying, he is softly spoken and uses this for optimal creepiness. One day I will own the lament configuration box set of this series!

4) Nightmare on Elm Street

'One, two, Freddy's coming for you...'. I know some people think the whole series is campy and cheesy but the original wasn't! It descended into cheese as the series went on but it just makes me enjoy it even more. I do have the box set for these and have refused to ever see the remake. Robert Englund is Freddy Krueger, now and forever.

5) Candyman

I'm sure every school has it's own version of the Candyman myth. A name you say in the mirror 5 times, or a poem about an evil being that summons the darkness. At my primary school it was 'white lady, white lady, I've stolen your baby', and rumour had it a lady clad all in white would appear to take you away. At my second primary school it was a lady in grey, haunting the bathrooms. For the resident of Cabrini-Green, it is the utterance of 'Candyman' 5 times that summons him. I've seen Candyman described as the precursor to 'Get Out', and also called out for perpetuating racism. It features a white female narrator who veers into white saviour terrority, and a black villain created by the brutality of white men. It's problematic in it's casting of a black villain hunting the white protagonist, but peeling back the layers it is so much more complicated than that. The societal issues it discusses are sadly still so relevant to modern times, that despite being over 20 years old, you could easily transport this film to the present day.

6) Alien

Sci-fi horror as it's absolute finest, with a bad ass female lead to boot. Sigourney Weaver's Ripley was a hero of mine as a teenager. Seeing a strong female lead who didn't have to be overly feminine, or conform to female stereotypes was so empowering. She was andrognous, she didn't need a man to save her, and the alien itself is Freudian, whilst also tied in with the horror of female reproduction. I consider Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 all well worth the watch. Yes, even Alien 3! I haven't seen Resurrection but I'm sure I'll give it a go at some point.

7) Cube

My absolute all time favourite horror film and I initially published this blog post without including it! It's genuinely creepy and stayed with me so long after I saw it. I first had it on VHS after pinching it from my Uncle and now have it on DVD. It's aesthetics are beautiful and I love that there are so many unanswered questions. Watch it!!

What are your favourite horror films to rewatch at Halloween? Please share, I'd love to watch some new films!